The most recent podcast series on the SAGE Crossroads website focuses on the economics on longevity science. During a conversation with Daniel Perry, the executive director of the Alliance for Aging Research, the topic of the “baby bust” arose. The baby bust, as Mr. Perry explained it, is the period when the baby boom generation retires from the paid workforce in droves, leaving a huge staffing and experience gap across the spectrum. This could have very damaging effects on the US economy.

About 10 million of the almost 45 million caregivers in the United States care for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. Most of these caregivers are not prepared for their new role, which takes a toll on their mental and physical health. Furthermore, Alzheimer’s disease is often called a “family disease,” because the daily stress of watching a loved one slowly decline affects the whole family.

Earlier this week, Gallup and Healthways released the first data from their collaborative Well-Being Index—a Dow Jones type measure of the daily health and well-being of American adults. Polling 1,000 Americans every day for the next 25 years, the Index will be the largest data collection ever assembled on the health and well-being of large populations.